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Vale of Glamorgan

Kathy Clugston and the panel discuss struggling house plants and neglected greenhouses, managing a towering cactus and encouraging lemons and limes to ripen.

Kathy Clugston is joined in the Vale of Glamorgan by Bethan Collerton, Anne Swithinbank and Chris Beardshaw, where they tackle horticultural conundrums from a live audience. inspired by the region’s famously fertile landscape - from the mysteries of the old‑fashioned mangelwurzel, to advice for struggling houseplants, and recommendations on how to manage a towering six‑foot cactus.

The team also shares practical advice on reviving a neglected greenhouse, caring for a long‑loved pot‑bound rhododendron, and encouraging lemons and limes to ripen in coastal South Wales.

Later in the show, Pippa Greenwood offers timely spring guidance on staying ahead of slugs and other emerging pests, helping gardeners protect tender new growth as the season gets underway.

Producer: Rahnee Prescod

Assistant Producer: William Norton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qp2f/episodes/guide

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42 minutes

Last on

Sunday14:00
BBC Radio 4

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Plant List

Q1 – A question about Mangel Wurzels. Have the panel ever grown them? If not, have they ever eaten or cooked them? (01’35”)

• Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, mangel-wurzel, beetroot

Q2 – I’ve had an Alocasiazebrina for about six years… It’s really started to dwindle. What should I do? Do I need to cut its head off and store it in a dark room, or is there anything else I can do? (5’13”)

Q3 – Can the panel recommend a plant or selection of plants that I could germinate in Derbyshire to gift to my friend, who has a small courtyard garden that gets only a little sun in the middle of the day? (10’00”)

Chris Beardshaw

• Aspidistra spp., cast‑iron plant

• Asarum spp., wild ginger

• Valeriana pyrenaica,capon's tail grass

Bethan Collerton

• Verbascumolympicum, Olympian mullein

• Moluccella laevis, bells of Ireland

• Lavatera spp., lavatera, Tree mallow

Q4 – I’ve got a cactus that keeps growing and growing, it’s about six foot tall now, what can I do? (14’22”)

Anne Swithinbank

• Cereus repandus/Cereusperuvianus, Cadushi

Q5 – I’m taking on my dad’s greenhouse which has been neglected for about a year… How do I start? What do the panel recommend? (18’43”)

Q6 – I have a much‑loved pot‑bound rhododendron. Do the panel have tips on recuing it? Will I damage it by splitting it? And have I missed the moment with the buds so developed? ( 29‘17”)

Chris Beardshaw

• Rhododendron spp.

Anne Swithinbank

• No new species

Q7 – Is it possible to grow lemon and lime trees in a climate like the Vale of Glamorgan? (34’15”)

Anne Swithinbank

• Citrus limon, lemon

• Citrus × latifolia, Tahiti lime/ Persian Lime

Broadcasts

  • Friday15:00
    BBC Radio 4
  • Sunday14:00
    BBC Radio 4

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